Hugh Howey is spearheading a campaign to change the rules of publishing. As an Indie publisher myself, it goes without saying that I support him. What are the real data behind all this, though? First of all, let’s examine what exactly people are reading.

Now, let’s see how much readers spend (since authors take a percentage of that, this also shows how much they make):

These two graphs explain why Howey’s Author Earnings project has been raising hackles in publishing the last few weeks. For the first time, we now have hard evidence that a tremendous shift is occurring, one that will benefit not just authors, but readers as well.

Although the details are hotly debated, the trends are clear: Indie publishing is here to stay. Traditional publishing will have to adapt to survive. And the vast majority of authors, genre authors in particular, are far better-off self-publishing.